Walter Chidhakwa is the current Minister of Mines and Mining Development as well as legislator for Zvimba South. He belongs to the ruling ZANU-PF party. Chidhakwa worked extensively in a number of companies before joining active politics.

Chidhakwa took over from Obert Mpofu who previously served as minister whilst he was his deputy. Chidhakwa has been hailed for making adjustments in the mining sector which include reviewing downwards licence fees levied on diamond cutters and polishers from US$100 000 annually to US$20 000 for a period of 10 years as a way of creating an enabling operating environment for players within the processing value chain of diamonds [2] The move by Minister Chidhakwa was in response to the sharp decline in the number of polishers which declined from 29 to nine after the operating fees had been hiked by 400%. The minister argued that value addition to natural resources is the fastest way to trigger the economy so that revenue realised in value-added products can benefit other critical service sectors.[2]

The minister also facilitated a loan facility between the Zimbabwean and Chinese governments worth 100 million dollars which was aimed at capacitating small scale gold miners.[3]Positions previously held